Illuminating shell



Oct. 10, 1944. 'J. wAu'rERs ILLUMINATING SHELL Filed July 24, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Oct. 10, 1944 ILLUMINATING SHELL Jean Wauters, Brussels, Belgium; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application July 24, 1939, Serial No. 286,279 In Luxemburg July 30, 19-38 4 Claims. (Cl. 10235) The usual illuminating shell generally comprises a cylindrical body within which are housed, from front to rear, the parachute, the flare slab and the ejecting charge.

When such shells ar fired from smooth bore mortars, propulsion is often obtained by means of a cartridge introduced into a tubular rear stem which is provided with radial perforations and which may be permanently attached to the base of the shell. When the charge has been fired, the cartridge case, which has burst opposite the perforations in the stem, is powerfully pressed against the latter by the pressure of the gases and is drawn along by the shell, thus leaving the barrel free for the next shot.

The objection raised against these devices .is the insumciency of their range due to their outline which is unfavourable to travel through the air. They whirl about themselves and, in practice, barely exceed a height of a few hundred yards.

The object of the present invention is to provide a projectile which, other things bein equal, will travel distinctly higher or further.

The projectileof the present invention is particularly remarkable owing to the fact that it is provided with a vaned body, the tapering nose and tail of which are connected by a cylindrical intermediate portion which is arranged so as to open under the action of the ejecting charge behind which the flare slab is housed, While the parachute is mounted at the rear of the latter and occupies a fraction of the tapering rear portion.

This arrangement provides a judicious distribution of the masses in th projectile and is conducive to its stability. Since the parachute which is very light (it is usually made of silk), is placed at the rear of the projectile, the centre of gravity of the projectile is thereby set further forward.

According to a further feature of the invention, the body of the projectile is composed of a coneshaped bas at the front of which is fixed a cylindrical collar which is itself capped by the rear portion of a cylindrical stamping. The front end of the stamping ends in a concavo-convex head the concave front end of which merges tangentially into the adjoining convex portion. This arrangement ensures the correct opening up of the projectile When it functions and the ready release of the flare and parachute which are contained therein.

A further feature of the invention lies in the fact that the rear portion of the slab rests. on

the front edge of said cylindrical collar. The slab merely bears by inertia on said collar at the moment of firing and cannot therefore compress the parachute.

Other advantages and peculiarities of the invention will appear in the following description.

In the attached drawings which are given merely for example,

Figure 1 is an axial section of an illuminating shell according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a rear View of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows the flare slab suspended from the parachute;

Figure 4 is an axial section of another embodi ment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a side View of the elements forming the parachute receiver.

In the drawings, I is the substantially conical base of the projectile to which stabilizing vanes 2 are Welded (by means of clamps I a). or otherwise secured. To the wall end of the base is fixed a cylindrical collar 3 capped by the rear portion of a stamping 4, being a thin-walled hollow member which is cylindrical along a certain portion of its height, and the wall of which terminates in a concavo-convex surface of revolution, the forward concave portion 5 merging with the adjoining convex portion 6 by a point of change of curve.

The concave-convex portion of the stamping surrounds a hollow head of corresponding outer shape, into which any type of time fuse 8 may be screwed. Beneath the fuse 8 is an explosive or ejecting charge 9 which itself tops a flare slab I0 with which it communicates through a channel I i drilled through the adjacent end of a container 2 for the slab. Matches [3 facilitate the ignition of the flare slab I0 which is attached to parachute [4 by suspending ropes l5 and. a cable l6.

Parachute I4 is suitably folded and is housed at least partially in the base I at the rear of slab H) which rests on the front edge of collar 3.

A driving band 11, capable of distortion and housed in groove lBa of collar 3, is intended to prevent leakage of gases between the projectile and the smooth bore of the gun.

Stamping 4 is preferably secured to collar 3 by a few punch marks I8 which are hammered into said stamping in line with a groove 19 in the collar.

The flare slab IE! is retained against movement in the shell by being interposed between the under e of the head 1 and the upper edge of the c ar tion of its flange 23 on the inner edge of vanes 2 in the manner described in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 286,278, filed July 24,

Operation is as follows: CartridgeZD having been fired, the gases from the gunpowder escape through perforations 22 Tail stem 2| bethus propelling the projectile. comes detached and is expelled by the effect of the blast after the projectile has itself emerged from the tube, as explained in the afore-mentioned co-pending application. Driving band I1 is propelled by the gases between the projectile and the tube and prevents leakage of gases- Slab In, which rests on collar 3, cannot compress the parachute as a result of the effect of inertia developed onfiring.

After a period'of time determined by the setting of time fuse 8, the latter fires ejecting charge '9 which defiagrates in head I and ejects the slab In from the stamping 4 which becomes detached from the collar 3. Parachute M, which is drawn along by slab I0, emerges from its housing and opens out as shown in. Fig. 3. Slab l0, which is ignited by matches l3, then burns and provides the desired illumination.

Instead'of tail stem 2| being fitted loose, it might be permanently fixed to the projectile. Nevertheless, the detachable Y tail stem makes the rear portion lighter and improves the stability and therefore contributestp a greater range. The thickness of head I necessitated by the fact that it has to resist the pressure of the ejection charge, also offers the advantage of ringing the centre of gravity further forward.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 where the same reference numbers relate to the same parts as in Fig. 1, the parachute I4 is lodged in a receiver or case 24 having the shape of a tumbler the sides of which widen slightly from the rear to the front thereof. The receiver 24 is made up of a plurality of elements 24a (Fig. 5) which-separate from each other when the shell opens under the action of the explosive charge or booster 8a.

A spring 25 bearing, at one end, against the internal bottom of the base I, and, at the other end, against the bottom of the receiver 24 is used to expel the receiver and the parachute out of the shell when the same'is burst by the explosive charge 8a. The spring 25 is centered along the axis of the shell by a block 28, which'may be madeof wood or some other relatively light material.

The spring 25 is positioned in an' axial hole in the block 28, as shown in Fig. 4. r

The block28 preferably corresponds in shape to the internal walls of the base I and is stuck or otherwise fixed thereto and thus acts as a rearward bearing for the receiver 24.

The rear end of the spring 25 is attached to a teat 21 fixed in the bottom ofthe base I.

Inthe embodiment of Fig. 4, the stem 2| carrying the propulsive cartridge, is fixed to the shell, and thevanes 2 are fixed to the rear part of the stem, so that a space is left free in the front of the vanes to place'the additional pro pulsive charges which may be shaped for example like a horse shoe.

The forward part of the stamping 4 is entirely convex. The rear end of the stamping is fixed to the ogival base of the shell. with screws 29. This connection is constructed so as to give under the pressure of the gases developed by the booster Ba when fired by the fuze 8.

It will be understood that the invention has been illustrated and described merely by way of example and that it is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

I claim:

1. An illuminating shell comprising a rear portion having an internal chamber, a forward stamping releasably connected to said rear portion: and providing an intermediate cylindrical portion,a relatively thick hollow head engaging the inner surface of the forward part of the stamping, a time fuse carried by said hollow head, a flare slab disposed within the cylindrical stamping and maintained against movement 7 therein by said head and said rear portion, a parachute connected to the flare slab and located in said rear portion behind the flare slab,

, an ejecting charge located in said head and adapted to be fired by said fuse for igniting the flare slab and ejecting the same rearwardly from the stainpingwhereby to release the connection between the rear portion and the stamping and thus permit separation thereof, a container for the parachute located in said rear portion, and a spring disposed between the container and the end 'of said rear. portion for ejecting the conengaging the inner surface of the forward part a of the stamping, a time fuse carried by said hollow head, a flare slab disposed within the stamping and maintained against movement thereinv by, said head and'said rear portion, a parachute connected to the 'fiare sla-b'and'located'in said rear portion, an ejecting charge located in said head and adapted to be fired bysaid fuse for igniting the flare slab and ejecting the same rear wardly from the stamping whereby to release the connection between the rear portion and the stamping and thus permit separation thereof, a segmental cup-shaped container located in said rear portion and housing said parachute, and

. spring means disposed in said rear portion and bearing against said container for forcing the container and the parachute out of said rear portion upon separation thereof from the stamping.

4;.-An illuminating shell comprising a rear body portion having an internal chamber and a closed rearward'end, a front body portion including a thin-walled hollow member providing a cylindrical intermediate section releasably connected at its rear edgeto said rear body portion, said hollow member having a convergent said fuse for igniting the flare slab and for detaching the front and rear body portions from one another and therewith eflecting ejection of the flare slab from the cylindrical section and permitting emergence of the parachute from said internal chamber, and spring means disposed in said rear body portion and bearing against said parachute for forcing the parachute out of the rear body portion upon separation thereof from 10 the front body portion.

JEAN WAUTERS. 

